THE maternity unit at Okehampton Community Hospital will for the first time provide a 24-hour birthing service as part of a drive to boost the number of babies born in local hospitals. Devon Primary Care Trust announced this week that it was appointing a new midwife, plus three full-time and one part-time midwifery assistant posts in Okehampton. The maternity service at Okehampton was previously effectively a day service with a night service ? one in every three nights. The new staff will be supplemented by using midwives from the Crediton area to provide cover when necessary, to make sure there is a midwife on duty at all times. Nick Pearson, a spokesman for the primary care trust said: ?This is fantastic news for expecting women. More than 20 babies a month are brought into the world in community hospitals in Mid Devon, but we would like to increase that and we think, mothers would like to use community hospitals, if possible.? Mr Pearson said the maternity unit at Okehampton was well-equipped with three en-suite rooms, one big room with a birthing pool, plus a terrace and garden. ?A lot of people talk about calling it the Okehampton Hilton because it is so great and so personal,? he said. Mr Pearson said the new appointments bring the number of staff working in the maternity unit at Okehampton up to six midwives and five midwifery assistants. The 24-hour cover is a trial service which began yesterday (Wednesday) and will run until the spring, when it will be re-assessed. The strengthening of local services at the hospital will be supported by a new campaign being launched to flag up community hospitals and the range of treatment they can provide to patients. The trust?s ?It?s Your Choice, Go Local? campaign aims to increase the number of people using local community hospitals. The campaign incorporates 30 different initiatives across Mid Devon to make services more responsive to local needs, giving people the opportunity to be treated locally, rather than travelling, for example, to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. Mid Devon Primary Care Trust recently announced that it had saved £100,000 in six months by treating more patients in Okehampton and Moretonhampstead hospitals. The trust hopes the campaign will encourage this work to continue and enable further savings to be made. West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox welcomed the move as good for the community. He said: ?I am absolutely delighted that the maternity unit will have 24-hour cover in Okehampton. ?I strongly believe we have to do more within our community hospitals, and if the primary care trust is moving in that direction, it is a welcome change from the discussions only a few months ago, when there were some concerns that our community hospitals might lose beds.?